Most of Bulgaria has already had more rain than its usual total for November, forecaster Anastasia Kirilova of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) told BNT. Tsarevo and Ahtopol got nearly 200 litres per square metre in the past 36 hours alone.

"The Black Sea coast was one of the places with the most rain," Kirilova said. Heavy rain fell first near Shabla, where more than 150 l/sq m came down, then moved to the area around Cape Emine. A lot of rain also fell in Strandzha.

Two waves of rain have crossed Bulgaria, one after the other, since the start of the month. The first eased, then the rain picked up again. It rained hard for five days, which caused difficulties and problems, the forecaster said.

She said the wet month had been expected. The forecast was not hard, because there was already a strong sign of heavy rain at the start of November.

In Kardzhali, more than 100-150 l/sq m have fallen since the start of the month. The town is usually among the wettest places when a Mediterranean cyclone takes a path like this. It also rained hard in central Bulgaria, around the Central Balkan range, south of the Balkan Mountains.

The far west and some parts of south-eastern Bulgaria, west of Strandzha, are still below the usual level.

"What comes next, over the coming days, is a cold snap. There will be days with sub-zero temperatures," Kirilova said. Mornings will be below freezing, while daytime temperatures will stay about where they are now, neither very warm nor very cold. Saturday and Sunday will be quite cool, though it is also cool now for early November.

The mountains will be mostly sunny. In the lowlands, plains and valleys, where most towns and villages lie, mornings will bring fog and low cloud.

At the start of next week, nights will be warmer and daytime temperatures will rise slightly, to around or above the norm for the season. Temperatures will fall again and rain will return between 14 and 15 November, after a warm front passes.

On 4 November we reported that after the overnight cyclone in Tsarevo municipality, 70, 100 and 120 litres per square metre had fallen, with the most rain near the villages of Velika and Fazanovo. No areas were flooded, and rivers had not burst their banks.

For the second half of the month, Kirilova expects mostly dry and fairly warm weather for now, with fog in the lowlands and more sunshine in the mountains. New rain is more likely between 21 and 23 November.